Cute Girls and Beaches
by candyflossknightmare
Summary: When Sakura first went to California to visit her cousin, she wasn't planning on meeting and befriending a rambunctious, loud, messy girl with an overload of freckles and no concept of personal space. Yet that's what happened, and now she's stuck with her for the entire summer. But, as time goes on, she decides that maybe that isn't such a bad thing.
1. The Tide Goes Away So Why Won't You

The Tide Goes Away So Why Won't You

Sakura sat kneeling on a beach towel, a cool breeze ruffling her hair. She was reading; steadily flipping page after page, while the bright sun, unusually benevolent today, did not glare maliciously down upon her as it usually did. Instead it chose to shine smilingly down, the pale rays of light softly illuminating the white sand beach. It was a perfect day.

She sighed and crossed her legs. It may have been a perfect day, but it was still sunny, since it _was_ still California in the summer, and Sakura couldn't handle sun. Well, it was more her _skin_ that couldn't handle it. She herself didn't mind sun, although the pitter patter of rain on the roof and the languidness of rainy days appealed to her in a way that summer sun never could. It was just that her skin fried if she even dared to venture outside for a few seconds without sunscreen. It was for that reason that she was now sitting underneath a hefty yellow beach umbrella, swathed in layers of waterproof sunscreen while wearing a large broad sunhat. Her skin felt clammy, but it was for good reason. Although she did like pink, she did not especially care for the painful pink shade of sunburn, especially when it was featured on her skin.

It was beginning to be a bit too bright for reading, so Sakura yawned and put her book down, leaning back and uncrossing her legs. She shut her eyes for a second, breathing in the smell of salt and sea and sand, hearing the screech and call of gulls and the dim muttering of nearby people all sunbathing and swimming, and feeling the grainy sun-baked sand as she curled her toes in it, the wind blowing her hair across her face. Days like this had been hard to come by, so she decided to treasure it.

She sat back up and suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an ice cream cart. It was a cute little cart, and a line was already forming so she stood up, brushed a few stray grains of sand off her dress and set off towards it. She strolled forwards, her flipflops softly smacking against the soles of her feet, and clutched a few bills in her hand so tightly that one would be surprised if they didn't emerge from her fingers majorly crumpled and with at least one tear. Sakura began to realize that this would be the likely course of events if she didn't loosen her grip on the money, so she told herself to calm down and tried to relax. The reason for her anxiety was that although she had studied English fervently and assiduously at school in Japan, she was still unsure of her speaking ability, and the past few days in America had proved that she was very liable to being misunderstood. She could only hope the vendor would understand her.

She joined the line and began to wait, idly tapping her foot. Soon enough, the people in front of her all got their ice cream and moved on, so she shuffled forward and ordered a strawberry cone. Luckily, the vendor managed to hear her right and handed her the correct flavour scoop of ice cream, which she then tentatively licked, savoring the icy sweetness. But when she turned to walk away, she was too absorbed in her ice cream to notice that the next person in line was standing directly in her path, and, as you can guess, a collision occurred.

The ice cream was first smushed into the girl's extremely freckled chest, before Sakura hurriedly moved back and dropped the cone, landing it scoop-first in the sand.

"I…"

Sakura whirled around back to the ice cream cart, hastily grabbed a few tissues and furiously began rubbing at the ice cream on the girl's clothes and chest.

"I am very sorry!"

Sakura continued to simultaneously clean and apologize until the girl, having said it was fine multiple times, finally removed her hands and stopped her.

"Really, it's okay!" she said, laughing good-naturedly as Sakura continued to apologize and bow repeatedly.

"I will buy one for you," she decided, and was about to turn back but was stopped by the girl grabbing her arm.

"It's okay! Really, it's me who should be apologizing and buying you another one." She moved in front of Sakura to the cart before she could protest and bought two ice creams, one strawberry to give to Sakura and the other chocolate, to eat herself. Sakura could do nothing but take it and thank her profusely, and apologize a few times more.

The girl seemed greatly amused by Sakura's extensive apologies, and Sakura in general, and invited her to sit beside her on the beach. Sakura replied that she'd think about it, and that if she did she'd have to move her stuff, to which the girl, whose name turned out to be Emily Jones, responded that since she wasn't carrying much she'd go sit next to her instead. And that is how Sakura ended up next to an extremely loud, outspoken girl who let her ice cream drip onto the beach towel and sat much too close for comfort and whose skin was so dotted with freckles that she looked like an over-sprinkled cake, except instead of sprinkles it was freckles; and instead of icing it was skin.

"Ice cream is good, but you know what would be even better?" Emily asked, licking her rapidly melting scoop and getting it all over the sides of her face. Sakura tried not to look disgusted.

"What?"

"Snow cones!" Emily exclaimed excitedly. "I've been having a real craving for them recently." She took another haphazard lick at her ice cream while Sakura rapidly flipped through her mental English dictionary to see if she knew the terms 'snow cone' and 'craving'. After a few seconds of searching, she concluded that she didn't.

"What is a snow cone?"

Emily immediately sat up, alarmed. "You don't know what a snow cone is?"

Sakura shook her head. "I do not."

"They're like those, ice cream things except they have paper cones and they're like colored ice bits, and they're really nice to eat when it's hot."

Sakura thought for a second, before her eyes suddenly lit up. "Ahh!" she exclaimed, thumping the side of her fist on her palm. "We have those! Okay, I know what those are."

Emily smiled and returned to the relaxed position she was in before, a pleased look on her face. "So, do you live around here?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

Sakura shook her head, wondering why Emily was asking so many questions and being so nosy to a person she had just met. _Perhaps it's an American thing,_ she thought. "Ah, but I am here to visit a family person, they live close here."

"Then how long are you staying here for?" Emily chomped into her ice cream cone, turning her head to look at Sakura as she waited for an answer.

"A few months," Sakura replied, and tried to subtly shuffle away from Emily, who now had ice cream in her dirty blonde hair and was taking up most of the space on the towel. But as soon as she had settled into a more comfortable position farther away, Emily shifted closer again, even closer than before. Sakura tried not to scream in frustration.

"Hey, you better finish your ice cream or it'll melt!" she declared, in reference to the still circular scoop of ice cream sitting atop Sakura's cone, while she was demolishing the last remnants of her own.

"It is fine, I-" But before Sakura could finish her sentence, Emily had reached over and grabbed her ice cream.

"Let me taste yours!"

Having said this, she proceeded to take a lick of the scoop, while Sakura was too stunned and horrified to react.

"Mm, chocolate is better," Emily decided, and handed it back to a speechless Sakura.

"I…" she trailed off, staring down at her now unappetizing scoop. "You may have it." She shuddered and held it out to Emily, looking away.

"Huh?" Emily tilted her head to the side, taken aback. "You don't want it? Wait…" Her face folded into a grin. "You're not saliva-conscious, are you?"

"I do not know what that means," Sakura replied curtly, frowning slightly.

"It's like uh, you don't like it when other people eat food that you've been eating. Like, sharing food and stuff."

"I see," she muttered. "Then yes, I am not so comfortable with that."

"Ah, okay then. Sorry about that!" she apologized, then burst into laughter. A very obnoxious-sounding laughter too, Sakura noted. She sighed and wished Emily would leave.

And so an afternoon passed, with Emily talking far too much and far too loudly, and with Sakura trying to drop hints, both verbal and physical, that she wanted Emily to leave, all of which flew straight over her head.

Eventually, Emily stood up, declared that she'd have to leave, unfortunately, and bid Sakura farewell, waving as she ran off. Sakura let out a deep breath.

 _Finally,_ she thought, picking her stuff up. _What an annoying person._ She tucked her book under her arm and began to set off for home, the sun just beginning to creep below the horizon.

 _I really hope I do not see them again._


	2. I Can't Sand This Anymore

Sakura adjusted the brim of her hat, tugging it down over her head. Today was a day just like the last, with the same pleasant breeze and mild sunshine. It was wonderfully calming. She had a book in her hands, a different one this time, one of her favorite mangas, the pages faintly musty and worn with age.

Earlier that day she had looked over the books she had brought with her, trying for ages to decide on which to read, before finally the charms and guiles of the oh-so-familiar characters and humor won her over and she guiltily pulled it out from the pile of critically acclaimed masterpieces that she had thus far left untouched.

She turned a page and immediately began to giggle. It was one of her favorite scenes, and she was now laughing at it for probably the 35th time. She finished laughing and continued reading, a content smile on her face, the waves crashing into the shore providing the perfect background music. The weather was good, she was reading her favorite book, and the mood in general was just nice. It didn't seem like anything could ruin it.

"HEYYYYYYY!"

Except for maybe that.

Sakura's brow furrowed and her expression immediately turned dark. She turned her head and as expected, a certain aggravating blonde by the name of Emily Jones was running towards her, a few round plastic buckets in her hands.

Sakura gulped down her annoyance and tried to muster a polite smile, before Emily ran and leapt straight into her, knocking her into the umbrella pole and sending the book flying out of her hands.

"It's you again!" Emily was grinning cheerfully, a stark contrast to the stormy unsmiling expression on Sakura's face.

"Um...yes. Hello." Sakura bowed her head, then turned around to retrieve her manga.

"What was your name again?" Emily asked, emptying the contents of the buckets out onto the sand, revealing multiple shovels and spades and sand molds. "I kinda forgot it."

"You… forgot it?" Sakura wasn't so dismayed as she was incredulous, seriously, the girl who wouldn't leave her alone yesterday had forgotten her name?

"Ehehehe!" Emily scratched the back of her head, smiling apologetically.

Sakura sighed. "My name is Sakura Honda."

"Honda? As in the car brand?" she asked. Sakura cringed and began to explain that yes, although that wasn't quite it, but Emily had already moved on. "I brought some buckets and stuff, so we could make sandcastles!"

"Sand...castles?"

"Yeah!" Emily frowned. "Don't you know what those are?"

"I…" Sakura glanced down at the buckets and spades. "I can guess."

"Okay!" She grabbed a bucket and began to use it to scoop sand. "Then let's see who can build the best sandcastle!" She continued scooping sand, her eyes shining.

Sakura sighed inwardly and picked up a bucket. She began to brainstorm ideas for her castle, weighing up the pros and cons of different types of castles, which would hold better, which would look nicer, which would be easier to make, etc.

On the other hand there was Emily, who seemed to have no plan at all, and was cheerfully and naively building a sandcastle that was doomed to fall. Sakura looked over, having almost finished her planning, and wondered if she should tell her that dry sand probably wasn't the best building material. But Emily seemed so immersed in her castle, with the tip of her tongue sticking out in concentration, that Sakura didn't want to disturb her.

Instead, she stood up and shuffled closer to the shoreline, lugging the sand-filled bucket with her to dip in seawater so she could get some wet sand. She wondered whether or not it was better to scoop wet sand in first rather than soak dry sand already in the bucket. She decided that it probably didn't matter, and even if it did she could always rebuild it.

She waded in and bent down to dunk the bucket in the water, the wind blowing her skirt around her knees, too absorbed in her work to notice Emily creeping up behind her, carrying a water-filled bucket and snickering.

"SURPRISE!"

The wind immediately died down. Sakura stood frozen, water dripping from her hair and clothes. Emily began to laugh, but stopped when she noticed that Sakura wasn't responding.

"S-Sakura?" Emily trudged forward through the water and poked her in the cheek. "You're not mad, are you? Come on, it was just a joke! You don't have to get butthurt about it!"

Sakura gritted her teeth and curled her hands into fists. Who does this person think she is? She turned to glare at Emily for a second before stalking off back towards her stuff.

"Heyy, I didn't mean it, I'm sorryyyy." Emily pouted, and Sakura took one brief look at her face before dismissing her apology as insincere and speeding up. She then set the bucket on the sand, gathered up her things and finally turned to face Emily.

"I am to return home. Take your bucket back please," she uttered, then whipped around and began to march across the beach. Emily seemed perplexed by Sakura's curt farewell and stony expression.

"Wait!" she yelled, chasing after her. Sakura flinched at the sound of her voice and picked up her pace, not looking back. Emily had almost caught up and reached out to grab her shoulder when Sakura finally broke into a run, sprinting across the sand. In response to this, Emily began running faster too, and continued to badger and pester her until finally Sakura halted, spun around, and yelled,

"Leave me alone please!"

Emily slowed to a stop, dazed, while Sakura immediately returned to running away. She stood there, the breeze blowing her curls across her face, which was now sporting a distressed frown. She watched Sakura's steadily disappearing figure for a few seconds before sighing and ambling back across the beach, kicking up sand with each step.

Sakura sat perched on the couch, curled in a blanket. After she had gotten home she had immediately taken a shower, changed into her fluffy pajamas and turned on the computer. Her dark mood had persisted for a few hours, but afterwards it had just dissipated, as Sakura was not the kind of person to hold grudges for long. Instead, she felt slightly mortified about the incident, and was torn between going back to apologize or staying at home, eating junk food and browsing the internet well into the night. She sighed and opened a bag of chips.

Latter option it is, then.

Still, she couldn't shake the guilty feeling she had. Even though at the moment it had felt absolutely great to be able to let her frustration out, she now felt incredibly ashamed for being so rude to someone who had only been playing a joke, even if it was an extremely insensitive joke and that someone was an exceedingly irritating someone.

The sound of a key clicking in the lock woke Sakura from her stupor, and she glanced up to see her cousin Takehiko stepping through the door.

"I'm home!" he announced, then raised his eyebrows at Sakura. "You're back earlier than usual."

Sakura nodded. "Welcome home," she mumbled, then returned to her laptop, not looking up.

He raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen?" he asked, taking his hat off.

"No," she responded, wrapping the blanket tighter around her. Takehiko squinted at her for a few seconds, before sighing and walking into the kitchen, leaving her alone. Sakura remained fixated on her screen and didn't move. After a few minutes of bustling around in the kitchen, he called out: "Well, whatever's bothering you, I hope you resolve it soon."

She sighed nervously and shrank back into her blanket, dreading the next day.

Sakura bit her lip and glanced around, fidgeting as she did so. It was a new day and she had come back to the beach, hoping for a chance to apologize to Emily and then cut ties with her politely, ending things on a civilised note rather than one characterized by yelling and running away.

She sighed and cringed as she recalled what had transpired the day before. Now that she could reflect on it it seemed almost silly how she had behaved, but she still felt that her reaction had been justified. She untucked her legs from underneath her and glanced around quickly, both hoping for and dreading Emily's arrival.

Her eyes locked onto a figure in the distance, steadily stomping her way towards her. She hastily turned back to her book, eyes wide in panic as she pretended to read, none of the words in the page registering in her head. She began biting her lips more fervently, trying to keep up a cool unaffected facade but failing. The figure in the distance was closer now, and out of the corner of Sakura's eye she could see her hair swishing as she stalked towards her. Sakura gulped. She clutched the hem of her skirt, kneading it in her fingers as the figure approached, coming ever closer. Finally, they stopped and came to a standstill. Sakura hesitated for a second, then turned her head.

"I-I…"

Emily seemed taken aback by Sakura's convoluted expression as she struggled to start her apology, before she seemed to remember something, an 'oh, yeah' look passing over her face.

"I'm really sorry!"

Unexpectedly, it was Emily that had spoken, dropping down beside her onto her knees. Sakura seemed bewildered, and was speechless for a few seconds, awaiting Emily's next words.

"I thought it'd be a funny joke but I guess you didn't think it was and I'm sorry I made you mad and run away but I just really wanted to be friends with you cos I saw you on the beach a few days ago and I wanted to talk to you cos I thought you were like, kinda, cute…" She trailed off, face red as she caught her breath.

Sakura was now even more bewildered. She wasn't sure she had understood all of what Emily had just said, due to her rapid speed, but she got the general gist of it.

"So, like, please forgive me." Emily grinned. "And maybe we can be friends. I won't play any more rude jokes, I promise! Friends?" She stared at her, beseeching with deep blue puppy dog eyes.

Sakura stayed silent. The apology, although messy and jumbled, had caught her by surprise, and she was almost a little touched. She glanced at Emily, still gazing expectantly at her, huge blue eyes set in a round chubby face framed by unruly brown curls, and thought that maybe she could give her a chance.

"...Yes."

Emily's entire face lit up.

"Woohoo!" she whooped, and grabbed Sakura's hands.

"Do not touch me please without asking!" Sakura cried out, and Emily hastily let go.

"Ehehe, sorry!" Emily rubbed the back of her neck. "Do you not like being touched or something?"

Sakura shook her head. "In Japan we are not usually so… affectionate."

"Ohh, okay." Emily nodded. "Then I'll try not to do it."

Sakura sighed. "Thank you."

"Anyway," Emily said, humming with excited energy. "Do you want to do something tomorrow?"


	3. Beach Summer Fun Buddies

Swimsuit? Check.

Sunscreen? Check. The high SPF, UVA and UVB blocking, waterproof kind? Check.

Swim ring? Check. Just in case.

Sakura finished checking everything, then exhaled and flopped back onto her bed. She frowned up at the ceiling, then closed her eyes, thinking about what had happened yesterday.

Do you want to do something tomorrow?

Emily's beaming face appeared in her mind, eyes shining. Sakura, of course, had agreed to hang out, even though the prospect wasn't entirely appealing to her. But she couldn't have simply declined the person she had just decided to give a chance to and befriend, and who knows, maybe it would actually be fun.

Sakura sighed and rose. She pondered for a few seconds whether it was best to change at the beach or change at home, before remembering that changing rooms were disgusting and choosing the latter option.

She held her swimsuit up and stared at it. It was a simple beige pink one-piece and adorned with a few frills; and in good condition, as she had only used it a few times before. She was vaguely anxious about the amount of skin it covered; or rather, the amount of skin it didn't cover. Although she supposed that she was just being overly paranoid due to her sun sensitivity.

Sakura shook her head, as if to rid herself of her worries. Do not worry, she told herself. You have sunscreen. Having comforted herself, she then proceeded to begin changing.

"Sakura!" a voice yelled, and Sakura jumped, then turned and looked around, searching for the source of the sound.

She then spotted Emily effortlessly sprinting towards her at top speed, a feat that wasn't easy to achieve on sand, as she had discovered a few days prior while running away.

"Sakura!"

Uh oh. Sakura took in Emily's outstretched arms and broadly grinning face before realizing that she was on a collision course heading straight for her, and that it was probably a good idea to step out of the way.

POMF.

Sakura stifled a giggle. She ambled over and offered a hand to Emily, who had just tripped and was currently lying facedown in the sand.

"Urggh," she groaned, grabbing Sakura's hand and hauling herself up, almost yanking her to the floor in the process. She grumbled and began brushing herself off, her eyebrows furrowed.

But as soon as she saw Sakura standing there in a cute swimsuit the disgruntled expression melted off her face.

"You came!" she exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "I was worried you wouldn't!" She opened her arms as if about to give her a hug, but then remembered what Sakura had said yesterday and dropped them.

"We made an arrangement," she responded. "I have to come."

"Oh." Emily seemed vaguely surprised. She giggled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess I wasn't expecting you to actually show up."

"Ah." Sakura was at a loss for words, unsure of what to say, but luckily Emily changed the subject.

"Forget about it. Let's continue our sandcastle competition!" Emily cheered and grabbed a couple of fallen buckets out of the sand.

"Those are yours?" Sakura asked, gesturing towards the buckets. She hadn't even noticed Emily was carrying them.

"Yeah!" Emily began scanning for an empty space on the beach. Her eyes landed on a choice spot near the shore and she brightened, before taking off, seemingly forgetting all about Sakura.

"W-wait!" Sakura called, chasing after her as she dashed and wound around groups of sunbathers enjoying the sun and children playing in the sand.

Emily didn't seem to hear her. Sakura scowled and furrowed her eyebrows in frustration, but refrained from calling out a second time.

Eventually, Emily slowed to a halt and finally seemed to notice Sakura wasn't with her.

"Sakura?" she yelled, whipping around and scanning the vicinity, biting her lip as she frowned in confusion. "Where'd you go?"

Sakura emerged from behind a large beach umbrella, running as fast as she could. She finally caught up to Emily and doubled over, struggling for breath.

"Please wait next time!" Sakura panted.

"Oh, sorry." Emily grinned sheepishly. She plopped down onto the sand and tossed Sakura a bucket, before starting work on her sandcastle. Sakura tried to recall the mental blueprints she had drawn out for her sandcastle the other day, before Emily had very rudely doused her with a bucket of water. She then made some modifications to her plans and headed towards the shore, carrying the bucket with her.

She stopped after a few steps and sat down. She then began shovelling wet sand into her bucket, making sure to pack it in properly so that there weren't any air pockets. She thought as she shoveled, quietly pondering all sorts of things, while behind her Emily was haphazardly dumping sand into her bucket.

After Sakura finished filling her bucket, she overturned it and placed it into the sand, patting it down firmly. She gingerly lifted the bucket and a perfectly formed sandcastle emerged, completely unblemished. Sakura cheered silently.

"Ooh!" Emily exclaimed, rushing over. "Looks cool! Is it done? Are you gonna leave it like that? Are you gonna add anything?" She knelt down and bombarded her with questions, hovering so close to the castle Sakura was afraid she was going to crash into it and destroy all her hard work.

"C-careful," she mumbled, quietly motioning for Emily to lean back. But she didn't seem to notice, and brought her face even closer to the castle, eyes wide in wonder.

It is only a sandcastle! Sakura thought frustratedly to herself. Stop obsessing over it!

But Emily was showing no signs of stopping any time soon, so the only thing Sakura could do was sigh and resign herself to the fact that it was just the kind of person Emily was, and hope that her sandcastle would survive her overenthusiastic scrutinizing.

"Okay!" Emily whipped back up, having finished evaluating the sandcastle. Sakura blinked, startled. She then exhaled, relieved that her castle was still intact.

Emily got up and brushed herself off. "It's pretty good," she commented flatly, turning away and crossing her arms. Judging from the delivery of her statement, you would have never been able to guess that just a few seconds prior she had been positively enamored with the tiny little sand structure. Her demeanor made Sakura almost want to laugh. But she couldn't.

She bowed her head. "It is nothing, but thank you." She glanced up to see Emily shaking her head slightly and smirking.

"Mine'll be better though. And I'll definitely win the competition!" She raised her chin and stuck her chest out and began to laugh, a loud, raucous laugh that made Sakura wince and glance around to see if it was disturbing anyone.

She stopped laughing as suddenly as she had started and flounced off, half skipping half dancing, back towards her own half filled bucket of sand.

Sakura sighed and shook her head, but she had to smile. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of Emily, of whether she was annoying, endearing or bewildering. It might've been a mixture of all three.

Two very different sandcastles stood near each other. One was expertly built, creative, and also very nicely decorated. The other could hardly be considered more than a pathetic mound of sand with a leaf on it.

Sakura looked at hers for a second, then swiveled to stare at the mound, completely silent. A good ten seconds passed, with Sakura standing stock still, a frown on her face while Emily shifted her weight from side to side, fidgeting nervously.

"So…" Emily started, bowing her head. "I-isn't it great?" She raised her head and tried to grin, putting on an air of confidence. "I mean, it's a masterpiece! It's awesome! Only a HERO like me could've made it!" She beamed, a strained smile that stretched too far across her face, and began to laugh.

Sakura blinked for a few seconds, then her mouth turned up at the corners and she started to giggle, her shoulders shaking slightly. Emily immediately stopped laughing and turned to gawk at Sakura, her eyes wide.

"Y-you're laughing!" She leapt up and pointed at Sakura, amazed.

Sakura quieted down and tilted her head to the side. "Yes," she answered after a brief moment of thought. "Was it wrong?"

"Nonono!" Emily hurriedly shook her head. "It's just… I've never seen you laugh before."

Sakura blinked. "I have only known you for a few days. It is not too strange."

"I guess, but it's still a little weird how you didn't laugh even once. Ehe, I guess it was mostly me doing the laughing."

"It was," Sakura agreed.

Emily nodded. "Oh yeah!" she exclaimed. "Our sandcastles!" They both turned to stare down at their creations. It was obvious who was the winner of their little contest, but neither of them wanted to say anything.

Finally, Emily broke the silence. "Man, mine is really bad."

Sakura began to shake her head. "It is go-"

"Nah, it really isn't. Yours, on the other hand, is hella cool." She grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

Sakura smiled politely. "Thank you."

Emily nodded and beamed. She then stretched, extending her arms out over her head, and sighed.

"What do we do now?" she asked, kicking up some sand. Suddenly, her face lit up, and before Sakura could even open her mouth to give a suggestion, she cried, "Hey, let's go swimming!"

Sakura bit her lip. "Swimming?"

"Yeah!" Emily replied. "Why do you think I made you wear a swimsuit?" She snorted.

"Ah." Sakura stared towards the ground and shifted from side to side. "But I am not good at swimming."

"Whaaaat." Emily furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side. "But you're from Japan!"

"Yes, I-"

"But? It's an island? Surrounded by water?" Emily frowned furiously. "What?"

"Not everyone-" Sakura began to explain, but after she saw the utterly perplexed look on Emily's face, she decided it wasn't worth it to even try.

"It does not matter," she said, but it seemed she had taken too long to respond and Emily had already either lost interest or forgotten what they were talking about.

"Whatever, let's go!"

Emily motioned for Sakura to follow and began racing towards the ocean, laughing cheerfully.

"Come on!" she yelled, splashing around. "Hurry up!"

Sakura trod carefully into the water. The water felt deliciously cold, and it made her shiver in delight. The cool wind blew her hair across her face, which she then tucked behind her ear as she continued forward to join Emily.

"Dude, isn't it great?" Emily said, beaming. She started to splash Sakura, dousing her in water and catching her completely by surprise. Sakura blinked for a second, while Emily hooted and snickered, then retaliated. Soon it escalated into an all out no-holds-barred naval battle.

Suddenly Emily stopped splashing and straightened, staring off into the distance.

"What is it?" Sakura asked. "What are you doing?"

Emily paused for a second, before whipping back around and hitting Sakura with an armful of water. "Nothing!" she responded gleefully, cackling.

Sakura sighed and shook her head yet she had to smile.

"What do you wanna do now?" Emily said, but her eyes lit up immediately after she asked. "Let's have a race!"

Sakura paled, shrinking back. "I told you, I am not good at-"

"Pleeaase! Just for a bit!" Emily pleaded. She pointed out towards the sea. "We'll race to the buoy and then we'll just swim back. Then we can do whatever you want!"

"You are serious?"

Emily nodded vigorously, clasping her hands together.

Sakura exhaled and grimaced. Emily continued to stare beseechingly at her, not saying a word. Finally, Sakura nodded, a tiny movement that was barely discernable.

"WOOHOO!" Emily cheered. She began wading out into deeper water. "We'll get to where it's too deep to reach, then we'll start. Okay?"

"Yes," Sakura said, and rushed to join Emily.

After a bit of wading, they finally reached a suitable point.

"Alright!" Emily beamed, standing with her head comfortably above the waves while Sakura floundered around, head half submerged as she tried not to drown.

"Let's go!" And with that, she swam off.

"Wai-" Sakura started, but her plea was swallowed by an incoming wave. She coughed and spat out some seawater and was about to call again, but realized it was futile after seeing how far off Emily already was. There was nothing she could do but swim after her.

Sakura kicked helplessly and tried to swim forward, but the waves kept crashing over her. Sakura had barely managed to get by during normal swimming lessons, and she had never tried to swim with her head above water.

The buoy looked ridiculously far away, and it seemed to her that she wouldn't be able to even get close to it, let alone beat Emily in a race.

 _But I must not give up! A Japanese woman never gives up!_

She started kicking more vigorously, but it was no use. She was forced again and again under the powerful waves, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to keep her head above water for more than a few second.

She started to panic, and was unable to even manage a feeble cry for help. It was obvious she wasn't moving forward at all. But winning the race, or even completing it was the last thing on her mind. The only thing she could think about was air, there wasn't enough of it, she couldn't get enough of it and she was sinking, sinking, finally becoming submerged underwater.

I must not die like this! It would be too shameful! And I still have not played that new visual novel…

She had just inhaled a mouthful of water when two arms encircled her, and began to tow her back to shore.

...Emily? she thought drowsily, but no, the arms weren't as freckled, or chubby enough.

A lifeguard then, she concluded, and briefly wondered where Emily was before closing her eyes.

Sakura was sitting perched under a beach umbrella, shivering and wrapped in a towel. Emily lounged next to her, a frown on her face and water dripping from her hair. A chill breeze blew past. It was cooler now, and the sun wasn't so high in the sky. The beach wasn't as crowded either, but they were still surrounded by the shouts and yelps of kids playing on the beach. Both were staring out towards the horizon, not saying a word.

Finally, Emily sat up and crossed her legs and turned to face Sakura. She opened her mouth, uncharacteristically hesitant.

"Why didn't you tell me you couldn't swim?"

"I did tell you, but-"

"Then why'd you agree to race?" Emily wailed. She turned away huffily.

Sakura blinked, shocked and unsure of what to say.

"I am sor-"

Emily cut her off. "Don't apologize." She sighed and swivelled back around. "It's my fault and I'm being stupid and if I didn't make you race me then this wouldn't have happened and I'm sorry!"

Her face crumpled and she burst into tears, bawling loudly and throwing her arms around Sakura.

Sakura immediately stiffened, but did her best to comfort Emily. "It is fine, see, I am unhurt."

Emily released her, sensing her stiffness. "Really?"

"Yes," Sakura said. "I was underwater for a short period only, I did not drink much water, I am okay. Do not worry!" She attempted a reassuring smile.

Emily sniffed and nodded. "Okay," she said.

Sakura sighed, relieved that Emily wasn't crying anymore.

Why was I the one who had to comfort the other? she thought to herself. It was me who almost drowned!

But she wasn't surprised. Not much of what Emily did surprised her anymore. Even though she hadn't known her for very long, she had realized that the best course of action was just to let yourself get dragged along. All in all, Emily was just like a big overexcitable child, stupid but ultimately nonmalicious.

Just as she was about to suggest clearing up, she noticed Emily was frowning again. She forced back a groan.

"W-what is it now?" she asked, chewing her lip.

Emily looked down, scowling. "I wanted to save you," she muttered.

Sakura tilted her head to the side and gazed at Emily. "What-"

"I wanted to be the one who got to save you! I wanted to be the hero!" Emily whined. "But that lifeguard had to butt in!"

Sakura stared for a second, eyes wide, before she began to laugh. "If you had tried to save me, you would have drowned also."

Emily pouted. "I'm a good swimmer! I could definitely have saved you!"

Sakura just laughed and shook her head.

"Well I'll prove it you someday!" She leapt to her feet. "Next time you need saving, I'll be there to save you!"

"No thank you."

"YES THANK YOU." Emily flopped back down. "Now that that matter's resolved, you have to teach me how to make sandcastles."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, both confused and amused. She realized that there wasn't much of a point in arguing with her, and that it was better to just go along with her demands.

"Yes. I will be counting on you then." Sakura leaned over and picked up a bucket. "Now, sandcastles."

And so they spent the rest of their time building, or attempting to build in Emily's case, until the sun descended into the horizon.

Sakura lay in bed, hugging a stuffed animal to her chest and reflecting on the day's events. She was exhausted, probably from, you know, almost drowning; but she was happy.

 _I made a new friend today,_ she thought, and smiled, a light feeling blooming in her chest.

A/N: hello! is annoying to use, but the hetalia fandom is bigger than it is on ao3, so here i am. anyway, (i never know what to say for these) thank you for reading my fic! i recommend that you don't take it too seriously, as it's really just a way for me to practice writing. don't expect anything resembling regular updates. suggestions for improvement are greatly appreciated!


	4. Shell Phone Numbers

Sakura was sunburnt.

Her skin was completely red and blistering, and she'd been plagued with headaches and chills. Not even her feet were spared. She'd spent the past few days cooped up at home, sleeping and reading manga, and just generally hiding from the sun. Emily was probably worrying about her, but honestly Sakura had felt much too nauseous to care.

Finally, after countless applications of aloe gel, her skin looked to be healing. It wasn't so painful anymore, and simply itched. It had also just begun to peel. Sakura supposed that it'd be good to stay in for one more day and then venture outside. After all, Emily was waiting.

Even though Emily really was a handful, Sakura had enjoyed the day out at the beach (excluding the awful sunburn she'd come out of it with). And it was always good to have a friend, even if the friend in question happened to have nothing in common with you. Actually, nothing in common might've been an understatement. "Complete and utter opposites" probably hit closer to the mark.

But honestly, Sakura had no one else to talk to. All of her friends were back in Japan, and time differences made it difficult to catch them when they were awake. And her cousin, like her, wasn't much of a talker, and was barely ever home.

It might even have been a blessing that Sakura had met and befriended someone like Emily, a person who would strike up a conversation with a random stranger without a second thought. Sakura just wasn't that kind of person. Even the very thought of going up to someone on the street and just saying hello made her heart begin beating like a rabbit and her insides twist with anxiety.

In a way, she sort of admired Emily. When they first met she'd deemed her loud and stupid and brash, and yes, she was. But now Sakura could see that she possessed a truckload of confidence, and even if it seemed a bit too over-the-top to be completely real, it was something that Sakura couldn't even fake. She was just a little bit envious.

She sighed. _It does not matter,_ she thought to herself, picking up a book. _Best not to dwell on it._

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" Emily exploded. Sakura flinched, and several others in the vicinity turned to see what was going on. "You've been gone for ages!"

"A few days only," Sakura said, but it only made Emily pout harder.

"I've been waiting for you!" she wailed. Sakura hurried to shush her before more people took notice of them.

"I am very sorry," she apologized. "Please forgive me."

Emily scowled for a second, but immediately dropped the expression and began to smile. She grabbed Sakura's hands.

"I missed you!"

Sakura exhaled, glad that Emily's little tantrum was over. _Really though, this girl's moods change much too fast._

"Let us go sit down," Sakura said.

"Okay!" Emily beamed, happily obliging. They both seated themselves on the beach towel, with Sakura perching demurely at the edge and Emily plonking her butt down and spreading herself out like a starfish. Sakura took great care to stay in the shadow of the umbrella, avoiding the sun like the plague. Meanwhile, Emily payed no attention to the umbrella at all, instead choosing to lie half in half out of the shade. Sakura pondered briefly what kind of sunburn Emily would get if she kept up this position, then stifled a giggle at the image that came to mind.

A pleasant breeze blew past. Emily sighed in content, her eyes fluttering shut as she leaned back into a cushion of curls.

"So where did you go the last few days?" she asked, turning her head to address Sakura.

"I was at home," Sakura responded. "I have been recovering from bad sunburn."

"Seriously?" Emily chortled. Sakura felt a twinge of annoyance, but kept her features neutral. "Should've put on sunscreen then,"

"I had applied sunscreen that day," Sakura said. "It had not worked."

"Oh," Emily said. "Then sorry about making you hang out with me and getting sunburned."

Sakura blinked and raised her eyebrows, glancing over at Emily, who genuinely seemed apologetic.

After a moment's silence she exhaled and responded, "it is alright. I know you did not mean any harm, and it is my failure to not take care of my skin properly."

Emily cocked an eyebrow. "It always ends with you apologising, doesn't it," she chuckled to herself, shaking her head

"Hmm?" Sakura tilted her head, straining to hear. "Sorry?"

"HA!"

Sakura flinched, thoroughly confused.

"Point proven, Saku." She laughed and lightly punched her on the arm.

 _Saku..?_ Sakura thought to herself, question marks erupting in her head. _What? And what is she talking about?_

After a moment of deliberation, she responded, "I… see."

She did not, in fact, see.

They sat like that for a few minutes more, an awkward silence hanging in the air. Though perhaps it was only she that felt it, Sakura thought, as Emily, like always, seemed blissfully oblivious and was happily humming a tune to herself.

 _So carefree._ Sakura sighed, gazing almost fondly down at Emily.

They gazed out at the sea, watching the waves crash into the shore. There were fewer towels laid out and umbrellas set up than there were the last day they had hung out, but the beach was still crowded with the sounds of laughing children and squawking seagulls. To Sakura and Emily, however, these sounds were distant, as they both seemed to be in their own peaceful world of sea breeze and sunshine.

"Oh yeah!" Emily perked up. "I've been meaning to ask you, do you want to see a movie together?"

"A… movie?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and bit her lip. _So clingy! I have only known you for a week!_

Emily waited patiently for a response, before realizing that she wasn't going to get one until she said something else.

"It'll be fun!" she insisted, sitting up and grabbing Sakura's hand. "Please? It's not like you have anything else to do anyway." She stared into Sakura's eyes, pouting beseechingly.

Sakura felt a twinge of annoyance at Emily's remark, but realized that she was actually right, and that if it weren't for her she'd be stuck doing the exact same things each day, without the courage to go out and explore.

"What genre of movie?" she asked.

Emily brightened immediately, grinning. "Horror! Think you can handle it?"

"I will try." Sakura wasn't particularly fond of horror movies, but she could handle them if they weren't too scary. And it had been a while since she'd seen one, although she did have quite a few horror games back home.

"Great!" Emily sighed, leaning back onto her elbows. "Oh, but don't blame me if you piss yourself," she said, smirking.

"I will not." Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her hair. "What is the name of the movie we are going to be seeing?"

"Hmm…" Emily frowned and tilted her head. "Uh, something like... Escape the Mansion? Or it might've been maybe, Into the Bowels of Hell? …I don't know, I forgot. Something along those lines." She giggled sheepishly.

"Alright," Sakura said, silently thinking to herself, _what the heck! Those two names are completely different! And why does the first one sound like some generic point and click escape game?_

She cleared her throat. "What day?" she asked.

"Oh, right." Emily thought for a second, frowning, the tip of her tongue poking out through her mouth. "Maybe next week? I'm going to visit my cousin tomorrow."

"Your cousin?" Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah!" Emily nodded. "In Canada. She's a bit sick, and there's no one to take care of her, so my mom told me to go keep her company for a few days. Said I wasn't doing anything useful with my summer anyway." She exhaled. "She's probably right. Well," Emily turned to grin at Sakura, "at least I got to meet you! Even though I've only known you for a few days, it's been hella fun." Her broad, cheerful smile seemed to tug at Sakura's heart, but she dismissed it as just a side effect of Emily's infectious happy mood.

Sakura smiled and said that she agreed, and wished her a safe trip.

"Thanks!" Emily laughed again. "Oh, y'know, she has a really cute dog, and it sorta looks like a polar bear. Do you like dogs?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded happily. "I have one at home in Japan. His name is Pochi." She smiled at the memory of sinking her hands into his soft fluffy fur as he curled up next to her, asleep.

Emily watched her smile for a second, before turning away. "Cute," she mumbled, more to herself than to Sakura.

Sakura nodded, still thinking about Pochi. "Yes, he is. Oh, but Emily, I cannot contact you when you leave…"

"Hmm, I can give you my number! And we can message each other and also set up meeting times and stuff!" She fished her phone out of her pocket while Sakura dug around in her bag for hers.

"Got it!" she cheered, tugging it out. She clicked the home button and the screen came to life. "Alright, now gimme your digits."

Sakura by now had also gotten her phone out and was now clutching it in her hand. And so they exchanged numbers, and became texting buddies.

"Woohoo! I feel like we've progressed to a new stage in our relationship!" She laughed. "Now we can keep each other up to date on what we're doing!"

"Yes."

"And don't ignore my messages, else I'll think you went and fell off the face of the earth or worse, don't like me anymore!"

Sakura smiled. Really, Emily was just like a child. "Right, I will make sure to respond quickly."

"Yay!" Emily beamed. "And don't just respond either, keep me updated! I wanna know what you're doing too. If you don't, I won't send you any pictures of the dog."

As soon as the condition reached Sakura's ears, her face twisted in confusion and sadness. Sakura turned to face her, appalled. "But-"

"Kidding! Of course I'll send pics of the dog. Don't worry." Emily snickered and nudged Sakura, good-naturedly but with perhaps a bit too much force. Sakura stopped herself from toppling over and hurriedly straightened back up.

"What is the name of the dog?" Sakura asked, remembering a very important detail that Emily had forgotten to mention.

"The dog's name? Hmm…" Emily pouted, tilting her head as she thought. She nibbled her lip and turned towards Sakura, smiling sheepishly. "Ah, I forgot."

Sakura sighed. _Well, not terribly surprising,_ she thought.

"Heyy, I don't even think my cousin knows! The dog has so many different nicknames that I don't think I've ever heard her call him the same thing twice! She probably doesn't even remember his real name. So you can't blame me! Hmph!" She turned up her nose and pointedly looked away, crossing her arms.

Sakura had to stifle a laugh. "It is alright, I forgive you."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "You should be the one apologizing," she said, trying to sound snooty but ultimately failing to keep the mirth out of her voice.

"Right," Sakura replied and fell silent, pointedly not apologizing. She glanced up at Emily, a playful smile on her face.

Emily pouted and reached over to pull Sakura's cheek.

"Meanie."

 _sakura_

 _sakuraaa_

 _are u there_

 _answer_

 _wake up_

 _talk to me_

 _ok so_

 _here's the dog_

 _u wanted to see him right_

 _respond_

"W…...what?" Sakura yawned, awoken by the incessant pinging of her phone. "Who is that?" She hoisted herself onto her elbows and scrabbled around for her phone, the bright screen a beacon in the dark.

Phone now in hand, Sakura sat up and squinted at her screen. _Oh, it's Emily,_ she thought, rubbing her eyes drowsily. She quickly scanned through her texts.

Aside from the multitude of messages nagging her to respond, Emily had also sent her a few pictures of an impossibly fluffy dog, soft and cute and adorable and also vaguely like a polar bear. Sakura promptly fell in love.

 _Very cute! (_ _)_ she texted.

From Emily came an immediate response:

 _oh ur here!_

 _ye hes cute_

 _my cousins here too_

 _say hi_

Opening the image that had been sent to her, Sakura saw that it was of a beaming Emily with her arm around a demure-looking girl with glasses who, considering how tightly Emily was clinging to her, was presumably getting the life squeezed out of her. Sakura had to smile at the pained expression on the girl's face contrasted with the blissfully oblivious one on Emily's.

 _Hello! (^O^)_ _／_

 _she says hi back_

They continued chatting, and eventually solidified their plans for movie-seeing. Sakura also found that Emily was just as talkative over text as she was in person, and she could barely get a word in edgewise. But it was fine. Sakura was content to just let her babble on and on. After all, there wasn't much going on right now in her life anyway, having spent the majority of the last few days cooped up in the house.

Yawning, she turned to face the window and almost jumped out of her skin when she noticed a few stray streaks of dawn painting the sky outside.

 _Already morning?_ she thought sleepily to herself. _I should probably sleep._

Stifling another yawn, she faced her phone once more and hurriedly tapped out a goodbye. Before Emily had time to reply, Sakura was already conked out in her bed.


End file.
